Ritu Jha-
Several young Indian Americans were flag-bearers at the ongoing International Cricket Council (ICC) 2024 T20 World Cup in the US, feeling proud to be part of an historic event in cricket.
Meanwhile, while their parents sounded excited as well, some of them felt the momentum for the future of the game in America would depend on whether it got the same official recognition as other mainstream US sports.
Indica spoke to parents and students of the California Cricket Academy, one of the pioneer cricket academies in Silicon Valley. Founded by Hemant Buch, it sent eight students to the India-Ireland and India-Pakistan matches at the Nassau County International Stadium in Long Island.
Siddhant Jain, an eighth grader who joined CCA when he was six years old, told indica, “My cricketing journey started when nobody expected a cricket world cup in the US, but here we are!”
According to Jain, “A major hand in this goes to youth academies like CCA. Cricket has grown at the youth levels but the world cup has made a huge impact on the game’s popularity in the US.
And the early games have helped.
“USA’s monumental win over Pakistan has [spread] cricketing craze around the nation. Younger kids who are starting, like me, are now flocking to the sport. Hopefully, this is a step towards the expansion of cricket as a household sport in the US.”
Yuvakshi Chilwal, who goes to the ninth grade this fall is another CCA student who joined the academy in September 2022. A flag bearer in the India-Ireland and India-Pakistan games, she was excited as well.
She got interested in the game after watching the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal between India and New Zealand. A batter, she occasionally rolls her arm with some medium-pace bowling.
Sanjay Agarwal, father of Akkshajj Agarwal, a seventh-grader, is himself passionate about cricket. He traveled to New York with his entire family for the game.
He said, “India-Pak is as big as it can get, bigger than the Ashes, or the Brazil-Argentina rivalry in soccer.”
However, Sameer Jain, Siddhant Jain’s father, expressed his doubts about whether playing the game can lead to a career for those children who are passionate about cricket.
Speaking to indica while watching the India-Pakistan match where his son was a flag-bearer, he said, “USA won. That is a big thing for children, because [the World Cup] is happening in the US. It opens a lot of opportunities,” he said. “But until USA won, there was a very muted response.”
He, too, wants the game to be recognized and officially adopted.
“It really needs awareness,” Sameer Jain said. “I hope the US government will look to furthering [cricket’s] presence in the US… They should give weightage to kids born in the US; otherwise, they won’t get motivated.”
He said young home-grown cricket players need support at the college level and in Congress.
“Even if it is a sport and watched by 2.5 billion people it is not a recognized sport in the US,” Sameer Jain said. “I hope this is taken [seriously]. Then a lot of kids will come forward and make a career out of it.”
He pointed out the praise being heaped on Saurabh Netravalkar of USA Cricket and said that Netravalkar survived because he had a job, not because he played cricket.
“All this cricket is parent-supported,” Sameer Jain said. “USA Cricket has no money to spend at the youth level.”
He cited how the ICC spent millions to build temporary stadiums.
“I would have appreciated it if they would have used the $30 million to build a ground at the grassroot level without having to dismantle it,” he said. “Every sport is commercialized, but to make money out of it first you have to spend. Then you reap the fruits.”
Buch, who started the academy for a youth league for children 6-17 and has cricket grounds in seven cities in the San Francisco Bay Area, where many USA cricket players have practiced, said they are looking for ground infrastructure meeting international standards.
In a previous interview with indica, Buch had discussed the lack of official recognition. But he welcomed how California’s Indian American Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), after the USA team won against Pakistan, announced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 211 that recognizes the growing significance of cricket in California and its reemergence in the Olympics in LA in 2028. Buch helped draft the resolution. He also asked the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), to recognize cricket. CIF is the governing body for high school sports in California., and its members include both public and private high schools.
Buch and Sameer welcomed the initiative, telling indica that if CIF recognizes cricket, the chances are very high that it will boost cricket and help it make inroads in mainstream America.
Buch told indica that “parents are hesitant to choose cricket as a primary sport since it is not recognized by the state, CIF and, subsequently, by the NCAA. As a result, there is no pathway for college scholarships.”
Vijay Beniwal, owner of the Seattle Thunderbolts, an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team, told indica 100 people came from Seattle to see the match.He pointed out that India’s score of 119 against Pakistan was the lowest total ever defended in men’s T20 World Cups.
He said the atmosphere was electric, given the 34,028 people who attended despite the rain, and enduring a delayed start. But Beniwal, too, said the big question was whether the game would be sustained with professional infrastructure.
